Fun birding fact: the term “waterfowl” technically refers only to ducks, geese and swans. Not every bird that paddles around in the water is a duck. Loons aren’t ducks, right?
American coots and common gallinules are also not ducks. They are members of the rail family. Both are unusual nesters in Maine, although they are commonplace south of New England.
One common gallinule has hung out in Bangor’s Essex Woods for much of the summer, sharing the marsh with pied-billed grebes, which are also not ducks.
Although grebes swim and dive like waterfowl, they are most closely related to flamingos. Yes, flamingos. They are excellent swimmers, but poor flyers. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one fly. They paddle in and out of the reeds in marshy areas and submerge when threatened.
The Latin name for grebe is Podylimbus. Roughly translated, it means “feet at the butt.” Like most birds that forage underwater, their legs are positioned far back on their bodies. This makes them much better at diving, but much worse at walking. Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen one walk, either.
Like other ground-nesting birds such as ducks, grebes face significant predation risks while nesting. The chicks depart the nest shortly after hatching and begin swimming within their first day of life. Similar to loons, the youngest birds travel by riding on their parents’ backs.
All grebes nest on floating mats of vegetation, which makes them somewhat less vulnerable to land-based predators, such as skunks, raccoons and foxes.
The feet of grebes and ducks are dissimilar. Ducks have webbed feet, while grebes have lobed toes — each toe shaped like a paddle but not connected by webbing.
Another dissimilarity is the bill. Dabbling ducks have bills that can sift through vegetation while diving ducks have sawtooth bills that can grasp fish. Grebes have shorter, heavier bills that can crush small crustaceans.
Eating bits of shell might pose a digestive challenge, but grebes have adapted by eating their own feathers. These feathers likely act as a filter for food particles, allowing them to regurgitate anything sharp and potentially harmful.
There are seven grebe species in North America. The pied-billed grebe is the most abundant and widespread. It’s the only one that nests in Maine, present in just about every reedy marsh. Look for a small, gray-brown bird that spends much of its time underwater.
Adult pied-bill grebe plumage doesn’t change much through the year. In breeding season, their bills are white with a dark vertical streak. “Pied” derives from Old English, meaning two or more colors. Juvenile pied-bill grebes have stripes through the face that make them look oddly bold. Grebes typically have a clutch size of up to 10 eggs, so there can be a lot of youngsters swimming around at this time of year.
Pied-billed grebes will be leaving Maine soon. Since walking and flying are not their strongest abilities, they generally migrate at night for the shortest distance possible. Maine’s birds winter south of Virginia, but probably not very far south.
Meanwhile, two other grebe species are moving in for the winter. Horned and red-necked grebes are presently arriving. In fact, red-necked grebes are one of the earliest subarctic breeders to migrate down from Canada, often by mid-August. The first horned grebes have also been reported.
Both of our wintering grebes travel a long way to get here. They nest on freshwater northwest of the Great Lakes in summer, migrating to the Atlantic in autumn. Some may linger on those big lakes, if they are still open. Horned grebes even pop up on freshwater lakes in northern New England, until ice forces them to the coast.
Like many birds that breed in northern Canada, horned and red-necked grebes arrive in Maine already wearing their drab winter feathers. Then, just before leaving Maine, they molt back into brilliant breeding plumage.
Along the Maine coastline in early spring, lucky birders may spot horned grebes in bright, golden colors, when for the last four months they were adorned merely in white and pale gray. Red-necked grebes do likewise. This timing makes sense: grebes form pair bonds and begin courtship in Maine before heading back to western Canada.
You may be asking, “When a grebe eats feathers, do they tickle its throat?” I’ll duck that question.